Artists, college group to provide materials, instruction for middle school art students

By Sun Journal Staff

Published: Tuesday, December 3, 2013 at 04:05 PM.

Local middle school students will have a chance to interact with honors students from Craven Community College this week when both groups meet for a paint-out on Friday.

Under the direction of H.J. MacDonald art teacher Lisa Connell, and with assistance from potters supplied by Community Artist Will, students will paint a whimsical array of large garden statuary that they may keep.

The artists and students will gather from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Friday with Connell’s 58 eighth-grade art students. The project is titled “No Art Student Left Behind.”

“CAW received a gift of high quality bisque ware from an anonymous donor,” says potter Ben Watford. “And, in keeping with CAW’s mission to bring the arts to underserved folks, we found a service organization with a similar mission to help.”

Phi Theta Kappa President Elaine Rouse and Vice President of Service/Fundraising Melissa Villa said CAW’s idea perfectly matched the society’s service theme this year.

The group is based at Craven Community College and sponsors a yearly Honors in Action project. Phi Theta Kappa is comprised of the college’s top academic students.

“We are very excited to be a part of this project and we are thrilled to be working with ceramics faculty member Michaele Rose Watson and the other artists provided by CAW,” said Rouse.

Local middle school students will have a chance to interact with honors students from Craven Community College this week when both groups meet for a paint-out on Friday.

Under the direction of H.J. MacDonald art teacher Lisa Connell, and with assistance from potters supplied by Community Artist Will, students will paint a whimsical array of large garden statuary that they may keep.

The artists and students will gather from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Friday with Connell’s 58 eighth-grade art students. The project is titled “No Art Student Left Behind.”

“CAW received a gift of high quality bisque ware from an anonymous donor,” says potter Ben Watford. “And, in keeping with CAW’s mission to bring the arts to underserved folks, we found a service organization with a similar mission to help.”

Phi Theta Kappa President Elaine Rouse and Vice President of Service/Fundraising Melissa Villa said CAW’s idea perfectly matched the society’s service theme this year.

The group is based at Craven Community College and sponsors a yearly Honors in Action project. Phi Theta Kappa is comprised of the college’s top academic students.

“We are very excited to be a part of this project and we are thrilled to be working with ceramics faculty member Michaele Rose Watson and the other artists provided by CAW,” said Rouse.

Students will choose from a selection of frogs, lizards, mushrooms and even fanciful tree people. The honors society has provided a grant for all paints, brushes and tools. Volunteer college students will guide the younger students in color harmony and brush techniques.

Villa says that plans call for the student artists and their works to be photographed and posted via CAW’s social media site.

“If the kids are willing to part with their piece for a week or so, the works will be exhibited around town by area businesses,” she said. “Or, of course, they could be Christmas gifts.”

Connell praised both groups for helping.

Watford said CAW plans to offer many more bisque ware paint-outs.

“Our donor provided us with thousands of dollars of statuary,” he said. “So we’re planning many more days like this at senior residential facilities, the correctional facilities and other schools.”

CAW is a cooperatively run incubator for the arts in Eastern North Carolina.

It currently sponsors Bohemian Artists of New Bern, free ARTcrawls for emerging artists on the second Friday each month in downtown New Bern.

It also sponsored last Friday’s “Random Acts of Artistic Kindness,” a free artworks giveaway in which art pieces were placed at open locations around downtown.

For information about Community Artist Will, call Mary Ann Horn at 626-0812 or email makkhorn@yahoo.com